Kubota fwd grinding in front axle and not pulling
- Thread starter Joey b
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Had similar problem in my l2850 5+ yrs ago most of the bevel gear teeth were sheared off and the rest were worn down to little nubs. Hardest part of the repair for me was finding a new bevel gear, pretty straight forward repair if you own decent snap ring pliers.
Could be the front wheel drive (fwd) shaft coupler. That would be the easiest to fix and worth having a look at first. Bevel gears and differential are more challenging to repair.
Here is a video showing fwd shaft coupler replacement. I hope this helps!!
I guess it kind of depends on what kind of grinding he's experiencing to help pinpoint the problem. If it is in the left or right casing due to the bevel gear I'd also replace the seals and bottom plug, for sure maybe the bearings and shims but that's me. I'd be curious if op was leaking gear oil in the front before failure.
All good points!! Not sure how mechanically inclined OP is.
5030
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That video is pretty, poor..lol The couplers are 50 bucks each at the dealer.
5030
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I'm probably going to get flak for this statement but the outboards on Kubota's leave something to be desired as far as bearings are concerned, at least the one's that Kubota builds, not sure about the new rebadged large M series.
Kubota uses ball bearings in the outboards instead of much better load bearing tapered rollers and when continually using the FEL at capacity and moving around a lot, they like to fail. Kubota isn't the only one so there are others out there in tractor land that use the same ball bearing setup.
I've never had an issue with mine (2002 and 2004) M9's both with front wheel assist. I feel good insurance against a pending failure is to use GL4 or 5 Hypoid oil instead of the UDT or SUDT in the front axles, in fact mine got changed immediately and have been on gear oil ever since. I use my loaders pretty hard shuttling and loading round bales on semi tracks and doing dirt work and so far (knock on wood), I've not had an issue in 6000 and 2500 hours respectively and I didn't put it in and forget about it either. My front axle lube gets changed ever 2 years.
I did have to replace the upper and lower kingpin bushings on one side of one side of one of them and both have the tie rod ends replaced and not with OEM tie rod ends either. I went aftermarket with grease fittings. Puzzles me why OEM Kubota ends are no grease.
I rarely use front wheel assist, maybe 5% of the total run time and never on hard pack dirt roads or on asphalt or concrete. I only use it when I have a traction issue, which is rare.
Kubota uses ball bearings in the outboards instead of much better load bearing tapered rollers and when continually using the FEL at capacity and moving around a lot, they like to fail. Kubota isn't the only one so there are others out there in tractor land that use the same ball bearing setup.
I've never had an issue with mine (2002 and 2004) M9's both with front wheel assist. I feel good insurance against a pending failure is to use GL4 or 5 Hypoid oil instead of the UDT or SUDT in the front axles, in fact mine got changed immediately and have been on gear oil ever since. I use my loaders pretty hard shuttling and loading round bales on semi tracks and doing dirt work and so far (knock on wood), I've not had an issue in 6000 and 2500 hours respectively and I didn't put it in and forget about it either. My front axle lube gets changed ever 2 years.
I did have to replace the upper and lower kingpin bushings on one side of one side of one of them and both have the tie rod ends replaced and not with OEM tie rod ends either. I went aftermarket with grease fittings. Puzzles me why OEM Kubota ends are no grease.
I rarely use front wheel assist, maybe 5% of the total run time and never on hard pack dirt roads or on asphalt or concrete. I only use it when I have a traction issue, which is rare.
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The driveshaft couplers are easy peasy to replace and you don't have to remove the cover or the driveshaft like the guy in the video did and I'd suggest using a suitable pin punch on the roll pins instead of a drilling hammer like he did. 2 hex cap screws and the cover slides back exposing the coupler, drive the old roll pin out and remove it. Replacement is the opposite and you don't have to use a roll pin either. A cotter key works just fine too. Just be sure to bend the ends over so they don't rub the shaft cover.
it's designed as a wear item and when worn, the front axle will develop a ratcheting sound as the collar slips over the splines on the drive shaft sections. That would be the first thing I'd look at before getting into the outboards, especially if they aren't leaking. They will start to leak fluid if the bearings are shot. The slop destroys the radial seal.
it's designed as a wear item and when worn, the front axle will develop a ratcheting sound as the collar slips over the splines on the drive shaft sections. That would be the first thing I'd look at before getting into the outboards, especially if they aren't leaking. They will start to leak fluid if the bearings are shot. The slop destroys the radial seal.
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Oh my lands, I hope this is covered under the warranty cause it gave me a brain freeze just watching his repair and explanation.....